Drain guard



United States Patent -ee 3,398,830 DRAIN GUARD Holger W. Horuquist, 4245th Ave. 8., Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada Filed Dec. 6, 1965,Ser.'N0. 511,669 4 Claims. (Cl. 210-153) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Adrain guard having an open-ended tube suspendable in an upright positionin the open upper end of a drain pipe beneath a downspout, the lower endof the tube being provided with a loose tiltable screen, said'tube,downspout and screen being arrangedso that the screen is cleaned bytilting after the tube is slipped upwardly over the downspout.

This invention relates to drain guards for drain tiles normallyemployedin receiving run-oft water from buildings and the like. I

In the construction of buildings, the rain water from the roofs thereofis usually conducted by way of perimeter gutters and vertical drainspouts into the open end of an underground conduit system usually formedof drain tiles.

The drain tiles are normally large diameter pipe having an open verticalend located directly beneath the down spouts which convey the water fromthe gutter. During the course of rain, trash in the form of tree leaves,twigs, sand, etc., will be washed down the down spouts and into thedrain tiles. If the run-off is not of a great volume, the trash willquite often deposit in the vdrain tiles, gradually building up thereinand eventually plugging the latter. Screens and the like have beenplaced overthe open upper ends of the drain tiles to receive the trash,however, these screens may very quickly plug-up and cause an overflow atthe juncture of the down spout and the drain tile. f

The present invention provides a holder for a screen which will retainthe trash but which, however, is so arranged that when and if the screenshould plug up, the water may yet escape into the drain tile.

Another problem with the use of screens over the open ends of the draintile lies in the fact that the down spouts are usually secured rigidlyto the side of the building and are centered over the drain tile andquite often must be moved to one side or the other of the drain tile inorder to clean the trash screens. The present invention overcomes thisproblem by providing a drain guard which may be cleaned of trash and thelike without the necessity of moving the down spout relative to thedrain tile.

The present invention furthermore is so arranged as to permit removal ofthe trash retained by the cover without the necessity for moving thedrain spout.

It is also envisaged that the present invention shall include a watersoluble herbicide which may be supported by the screen and which whencontacted by drain water will be carried in solution therewith throughthe drain tile so as to contact and kill plant life which so very oftengrows in the tile and eventually plugs the latter.

The present invention comprises an elongated cylindrical tube open ateach end to form a through passage, said tube being of smaller crosssectional dimension than the cross sectional dimension of the drain tileso as to permit the insertion of the tube into an open end of thelatter, means at one end of the tube engageable with the end of thedrain tile for suspending the former in an upright position within thelatter, and means at the other end of the tube extending partially intothe through passage for removably supporting a screen therein.

3,398,830 Patented Aug. 27, 19 8 In the drawings which illustrate theinvention,

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the drain tile and down spout with thedrain guard in position therein, portions of the drain tile beingremoved for clarification.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical'section' of the invention installed in a drainpipe, and

FIGURE 3 is a section of the invention taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

The construction of buildings requires the use of gutters which collectthe water from the roofs of buildings and lead it at intervals to downspouts connected to the gutters which extend vertically therefrom anddischarge at their lower ends into the open upper ends of undergrounddrain tiles which carry the rain water into the underground drainagesystem with which most building areas are supplied.

In the drawings there is illustrated a down spout 10 which is normallysecured in a vertical position to a build ing 11 by U-shaped straps 12.The down spout 10 terminates at its lower end 13 an inch or two abovethe upper end 14 of the drain tile 15, the drain tile being ofconsiderably larger diameter than the down spout. There is usually alsoprovided a cap 16 of an annular nature which is slidably fitted over thelower end 13 of the down spout and over the upper end 14 of the draintile, the cap being employed to prevent foreign objects from beinginadvertently dropped into the drain tile.

Leaves, twigs and the like which normally enter the down spout from thegutters and which are thence discharged into the drain tile normallycause no problem where run-off is heavy. However, during periods ofrelatively light rain fall, the trash quite often builds up, due to thelight water flow, and eventually plugs the drain tile so that duringperiods of heavy run-oft", the water will quite often overflow over theupper end 14 of the drain tile.

The drain guard apparatus, herein accorded the numeral 20, has a bodyportion 22 taking in the form of an elongated cylindrical tube havingrelatively thin walls 24, the external diameter of the latter being lessthan the internal diameter of the drain tile 15 so as to permit thedrain guard to be insertable into the open upper end of said tile, thefit being loose enough so that an annular passage 26 is provided betweenthe wall of the tile and the drain guard.

At one end 28, being the upper end of the drain guard when it is inposition within a drain tile, there is formed an external annular flange30 which, when the drain guard has been fully inserted in the pipe, willlap over the upper end 14 of the drain tile and support the drain guardin a vertical position therein. At the other or lower end 32, the wall24 of the body portion is provided with an inwardly extending annularflange 35 having a large diameter central opening 36 so that there isprovided a through passage through the guard.

The walls 24 of the body portion are also provided, substantiallyintermediate between both ends thereof, with perforations 37, theseperforations thereby providing communication between the annular passage26 and the last-mentioned through passage.

The annular flange 35 serves as a seat for a screen 40. This screen iscircular in shape and loosely fits inside the body portion 22 so as tobe easily removable therefrom, and thereby provide means whereby screenshaving varied mesh sizes may be employed dependent upon thecircumstances under which the drain guard is to operate.

In the use of the drain guard, the latter is inserted as shown inFIGURES l and 2, into the drain tile 15 with the annular flange 26resting upon the upper end 14 of the latter.

During periods of rain fall, trash, including leaves,

of a building. down the drainspout, will be caught bythe screen 40. Itwill be appreciated that the trash will gradually build up in the screenand eventually plug the latter. However, when thisoccurs, theperforations 37 willpermit continued operation of the drain guardpassing the water into the annular passage 26. A

Intermittent cleaning of the drain guard must, of course, be carriedout. In order to do this, it is onlyvnecessary to slide the cap 16upwardly along the drain spout, then lift the drain guard upwardly untilthe lower end 32 clears the upper end 14 of the drain tile. It is thenonly necessary for the individual carrying out the operation .to slidehis handbeneath the lower end of the drain guard and press upwardly onone side of the screen 40 in order to tip the latter. This willnaturally expose the trash collected therein which may then be removedand discarded. When the Screen has been fully cleaned, it may then belowered on to the flange 35 and the drain guard and capreplaced in theirformer position. I

It will be seen that the cleaning operation as described above may becarried out without disturbing either the down spout or drain tile and,if it becomes necessary to install a new screen, this may be easily doneby lifting the drain guard fully out of the drain tile, placing it in anoffcentre position relative to the drain spout, and dropping a newscreen downwardly thereinto.

The tendency for plant life to flourish in drain tile is well known, thegrowth therein eventually plugging the tile and in most instancesnecessitating its removal and cleaning.

The present invention, therefore contemplates the employment of aherbicide, preferably of the water soluble type, e.g., 2, 4, -T, whichmay be compressed in tablet or pellet form and which is positioned inscreen 40 so as to be contacted and dissolved by drain water passingthrough the guard. The herbicide will of course prevent the growth ofplates in the drain tile and therefore maintains the tile in a cleancondition.

In FIGURES 1 and 2 a pellet 45 is illustrated resting on the screen 40.This pellet should be of a size that it will not hinder passage of waterthrough the guard.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Drain guard apparatus for vertical drain tile comprising an elongatedcylindrical tube open at each end to form a through passage, said tubebeing of smaller cross sectional dimension than the cross sectionaldimension of the'dr-ain tile so as to permit the-insertion ofthe'tube'into an open end of the latter, an external annular flange atone end of the tube engagea'ble with the end of the drain tile forsuspending the former in an upright position within the latterbeneathgjdownspout, an internal annular flange at the other end of thetube" extending partially into the through'fpassage and a thinflat-screen seated on the internal annularflangesaid screen looselyfitting in the tube so as to permit it". to be arranged in a tiltedposition relative to the latter, said downspout, tube and screen beingconstructed so'that the screen is cleaned by tilting thejsameafterthetube isslipped upwardly over the downspout. I v

2. 'Di"z iin gn'ard apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the crosssectional dimension of the tube relative to the tile is such astofo'rman annular space therebetween and including perforations formedin the tube above the screen element for permitting communicationbetween the through passage and the annular passage;

3. Drain guard apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including a water solubleherbicide adapted to be supported by the screen so as to be contacted bywater passing through the guard. I i I r 4. Drain guard apparatus asclaimed in claim 3 in which the herbicide is formed as a pellet, thedimensions of which 'are such so as to provide clear passage for drainwater through the passage.

Rolston 2996 9 REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner.

F.'SPEAR, Assisnint xa 'mr; I

